Hi Natalie.
Ok, I guess that's not really true. I've learned a lot over 19 months of mom-hood, but the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. Yesterday was a great example of this. We had a major victory moment in church in which we remained strong and wouldn't let 19-month-old Nora whine her way out of the chapel. We made sure she wasn't disturbing anyone, but we made it clear that crying wouldn't get her a free ticket to run the halls. And it worked! By the end of the meeting, my husband and I were exhausted but triumphant (and only too happy to drop her off at nursery), and I couldn't help thinking, "See? I can do this! I can raise a well-behaved child!"
Pride goeth before a fall.
Cut to Sunday Night Family Dinner at Grandma's House- a much anticipated event with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins to play with. Suddenly my sweet little girl was playing bully to all her cousins- even those older than her! I'd pull her onto my lap and say some combination of, "We don't hit. Tell him/her you're sorry. Go give him/her a hug. Are you ready to be nice?" She'd say sorry. She'd give a sweet hug. And then she'd hit/push/scratch all over again. We spent the majority of the evening trying to enforce some manner of Time Out, but nothing even phased her. And I felt like I knew absolutely nothing.
That's the trick with being a mom! As Erika mentioned, nearly every aspect of life is constantly changing. Throw on top of that the fact that kids are constantly learning and changing, and the fact that every kid is totally different, and it's easy to see why motherhood is the most challenging occupation in existence.
Luckily, it's also the most rewarding. And luckily, it often only takes a little reward to counterbalance all of the challenge. Like when I see Nora taking a baby wipe to the mattress where she had- moments before- smeared the last of a tube of my mascara. And when she notices me, she looks up and says, "Clean up." And- just for a minute- it's ok that I have no idea how to get mascara out of a mattress. All that matters is that I know where the camera is.
Maybe I know a little more than I think I do.
Everytime I think I have Sadie figured out, she changes things up. I still can't figure out a regular time for naps. She wants to change it up everyday!
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